First time pool owner in KY

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C

chester40391

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Aug 19, 2016
9
Winchester, KY
Kids wanted a pool and probably would never get one except grandparents offered to help. I wasn't terribly apposed to it but I kept telling myself there is a reason folks have pools and then don't have them anymore. I wouldn't want to spend so much money and effort to set up a pool that is temporary. However the pool went up this year and I started realizing how important the chemistry is and realized this is probably were folks fail. I ended up landing at TFP quite often to learn how to be a responsible pool owner and not go broke. It took me only 2 visits in the same week to my pool store to realize I need to avoid them. First indication was him telling me how I need to avoid buying chemicals from Walmart and to stay away from salt water. It was a little over the top to tell me folks destroy their pools with chemicals from walmart. Second indication was them testing my water sample with a test strip. Third was telling me I needed a gallon of pool shock only to tell me the next day I now need 3 gallons.

Well since I'm now a pool owner I want to keep my investment and keep the family happy so here I am. I've already upgraded to a large sand filter. I purchased a clorinator and a sidewall skimmer that I will install soon. Ive also made the fittings to convert the intex plumbing to PVC


22x52 Intex Ultra Frame Above Ground Pool
Intex Sand Filter Pump 2450 GPH
Intex Multi-Color LED Pool Fountain
Intex LED Pool Wall Light
Hayword Sidewall Skimmer
Hayward CL220 Auto Chem Feeder
Taylor K-2006
Multitude of test strips
 
What type of chlorinator did you purchase? If it uses pucks, see if you can return it unless it is just a $10 floater.

If you need help with chemistry, post up some numbers.

Also, go to settings at the top of the page, then click signature on the left and add all that pool info into your signature so it will appear with each post you make. Glad to have you with us!
 
Actually never mind. Did some digging. I was aware of the CYA issue with using some chlorine solutions as ive already ran into the issue personally but I had no idea that tabs were unavailable without stabilizer. I'm sending the unit back. Thanks for the heads up
 
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We don't recommend the use of pucks at all except for special situations. The pucks add significant amounts of CYA. We love CYA but only at low amounts. Why don't you post up some numbers with that great Taylor testkit?

If you are on a different device, you may need to check "show signature" below your post on the left of "submit.

- - - Updated - - -

Cross-post. You're welcome. Great decision on returning the chlorinator!!!
 
I have 2 floaters which I can deploy if necessary but I'm already on the high side of CYA. I'm in the middle of a partial drain to install the sidewall skimmer atm but once I get it back to 100% and the pump has cycled the water I will post chemistry. I don't see any signature button. I'll check from a computer this afternoon.
 
System had complaints about my signature which I have fixed. Here is my chemistry after partial fill
FC 4.9
CC 0
PH 7.7
ALK 140
CH 120
CYA 55

According to what I think I have learned thus far my CYA is a bit high but there is no danger and it takes more FC to be effective. I've added 18oz 10% chlorine to get to target of 6.3 (actually added 20oz for safe measure/sunny day) however the next morning I found that I am now at 4 FC. I believe my next step is to do a chlorine demand test however what I don't quite understand is why I can have a chlorine demand issue with CC at 0 and with stabilizer on the high end

I believe PH is dead on and seems stable for weeks but since my TA is high I need to keep an eye on the PH as it could drift upward. High TA is not much an issue but for comfort I could run with a lower PH or attempt to lower TA. Unless someone says otherwise I'm not going to worry about high TA and just keep an eye on PH. Not much swimming left this season anyway. If this was an issue and it was earlier in the season I would follow the guides keeping in mind PH and TA affect one another when making changes.

CH 120. Not at all high and don't much care with vinyl liner
 

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CC can be zero at the same time you have organic contamination in the event that your FC is adequate to deal with the contamination and the sun is burning up the CCs quickly as well. Also, sunshine deplete FC with or without CYA, it's just slower with CYA.

The TA will cause your pH to rise, but each acid addition will lower TA a bit. You can leave it there but do monitor your pH regularly. If you decide that the pH rise is annoying, then lower your pH to 7.2 each time you correct it, and TA will come down more quickly. Dropping it to 7.0 each time will work a little bit faster. As long as there's not to much topping up with high TA water, it will get closer to stable as the TA gets down closer to 70ish.
 
So now im a bit confused and need to go back to my testing methods. In an attempt to do chlorine demand test I was unsure about my drop count and so did a second test The second test was wildly different from the first and then was the third. I did rinse between tests. Water level was at the mark each time / Rinsed between tests / Tested from the same area of the pool (although shouldn't matter)/tested within 5 minutes of each other with no direct sunlight My results for FC last night 6, 8, 7.2 My results this morning although meaningless without control readings FC 7.1, 6.7.

So first thing I need to find what I am doing wrong in my testing which seems straight forward but apparently not and Ive already ordered more reagent as this process is going to deplete it. thoughts? heading back to pool school and forum search for inconsistent readings.
 
Decided to go ahead and drop my PH and aerate to lower alk. First season for me and lots of learning. Id like to continue making all of the mistakes this year so that next year will be more pool time. I have the PH to 7.0-7.1 and aerating by running the pool fountain Alk still shows 140. I actually built an elaborate aerator using 4 10ft 1/2 inch pvc today making an X across the pool and hooking it to my air compressor but realized the air compressor will keep running the entire time and it isn't designed for that. This weekend im going to spend more time testing FC until I get consistent results. I may still make a smaller aerator out of PVC and try adjusting my air compressor cut in very low so that it may have a chance to shut off.

Also found in pool school that I am doing the CYA test wrong so my CYA could be even higher than I thought. I haven't been reading CYA at waist level. I didn't get a chance to test it correctly today. Its hard to believe this is the best test we have for CYA. Staring at a black dot reminds me of those tricks where you stare so long at a spot and look away and still see it.
 
Actually the aerator I built wasn't very functional. All of the air escaped through the closest leg. That leg worked really well and I thought about redesigning it with just the one leg but I decided against letting my compressor run so long and because I feel the effect of the Intex pool fountain is equal or greater. The pool fountain is the output of the pump that is running anyway so now additional power or wear on equipment. My PH went up much quicker than I thought after getting it to 7.2. Now on Round 2. Also more FC reagent arrived so I can try testing several times and try to get similar results or figure out what I am doing wrong.
 
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